Sectional burial-vault



J. D. BARBER.

SECTIONAL BURIAL VAULT.

APPLICATION msn MAR. 3, 1919.

Patentd 0%. WZL

NT naaien.

FAW

JOHN ID. BARBER, OF WEST PARK, UHIG.

SECTIONAL BURIAL-VAULT.

To all w/wm t may concern.'

l l Be it known -that JOHN D. BARBER, citizen.

of the United States, lin the county of Cuyahoga and State of residing at lVest Park,

Ohio, has invented certain new and useful Improvements .in Sectional Burial Vaults,

of which the following is a specification.

vla

y invention relates to a sectional burial vault, and the object of the invention is to provide a burial vault made of reinforced concrete slabs or sections adapted to be easily assembled and then securely united together and hermetically sealed by a cement or grouting poured into specially'formed.

utters and' grooves paralleling the joints. "ach slab is reinforced with iron rod's eX- tending into the corners where an interlocking effect is obtained, and the cover slab is provided with handles secured to orforming part of the reinforcing rods extending longitudinally thereof.

Figure 1 is a sectional view vertically and longitudinally through the finished vault and showing a casket therein. F ig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 9-9, Fig. 1, while 'F ig. 3 is a transverse section of the vault on line 10-10, Fig. l.

The vault comprises five separate slabs, each made of concrete andy formed in suitable molds so that when the five parts are assembled a rectangular .box is obtained which has smooth flat walls interiorly and exteriorly and-a rounded top. The bottom slab 2 has a flat table portion 3 bordered by a depressed seat t of the same width substantially as the thickness of the sidev and end slabs 5 and 6, respectively, and the vertical wall 7 which extends upwardly from the seat 4 to the top surface of the table portion-3is inclined relatively to a perpendicu- .lar 'line with a viewof providing a continuous channel or gutter 8 upon the inside of the vault when the side andend slabs .are placed upon seater. v'Mortar is placed upon seat'llbut Vinoirtar'alone is insufficient to fluid-tight joint, and I therefore makel a j form or make the gutter 8 on the inside of tliemj'oint or line of union so that a thin grouting. or' cement may be poured into it anda contmuous unbroken seal and cemented union provided on all four sides and at each corner of the box or vault. A vault made ofgc'oncrete is necessarily heavy, but if made in sections each section is easily handled and the vault may be assembled in the grave. However, the room for 4such Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 3, 1919.

Patented ct. itil, 1921.

serial No. 280,297.

work in a grave is limited and under such' conditions it is quite impracticable .to close or seal the joints from the outside, especially the bottom and side joints. But this difficulty is ovei'come'by providing the gutter 8 on the inside asdescribed.

The vertical joints at the four corners of' the box or vault are also made in a special way to obtain a fluid-tight seal and cemented union, together with an interlocking effect. Thus each side slab 5 has a tongue 9 at each end thereof which is flush with the inner flat surface of the slab and adapted to fit loosely in a vertical channel or groove 10 formed in the inner flat face of each end slab. Each groove v10 is of greater depth than the length of the tongue 9 therelin to provide a vertical space 11 within which a thin cement or grouting is poured to make a lperfect, iuid and air-tight seal and cemented union between the side and end slabs, and each space 11 is easily reached and filled from above in the saine way as glitter 8. j

Having the four sides and bottom of the vault assembled and cemented together, and the casket placed therein, the only remaining step to be taken to close and seal the vault entirelyy is to lower the cover 12 in place and seal and cement the joint at the top of the side and end slabs. To effect this properly in a simple, quick and practical way, l form a right-angled seat or depression 14 in the upper edges and at the inside of each side and end slab so that the top sla'b 12 may rest in this depression with a loose lit all around, and the upper edge 16 of each side and end slab slopes upwardly and outwardly while the cover 12 is rounded or provided with. an inwardly and upwardly sloping surface from each side and end edge. These diverging sloping surfaces jointly provide a broad shallow channel or gutter 17 extending continuously around the cover parallel with the straight edges of the assembled slabs, and this gutter 17 is also lled with a thin grouting or cement which flows into and fills the vertical spaces of the joint and rises to a height level with the outer edge of each side and end slap, thereby uniting the cover to the side and end slabs and hermetically sealing the vault.

Each concrete slab of the vault is preferably reinforced with metal tie rods 18, and the end slabs 6 have the extremities of the tie rods 19 therein bent at an angle and pr llOO jected into the narrow rib portion 2O forming the outer Wall of the vertical groove 10 so that this relatively weaker portion of the slab will be materially strengthened and supported. The reinforcing rods of metal 18 extending longitudinally of the cover slab also have loops or metal handles 21 affixed thereto and these handles project through the top and afford a holding means wherewith to carry the cover or to raise or lower it. Y. v

What I claim is:

A burial vault comprising separate end, side and bottom sections adapted to be assembled and cemented together, the end and side sections having each a right angled recess along its upper inner edge and provided with inwardly and downwardly sloping upper edges outside of said recesses and inclined thereto, and a slab forming a cover for said vault having a sloping top surface at its ends and sides corresponding to the slope of the edges of the sides and ends and relatively lower than the outer edges of the said side and end slabs, and which, together with the sloping edges of the side and end slabs, form a broad continuous shallow sealing gutter above the joint line between said parts.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, this 18th day of February, 1919.

JOHN D. 

